Cat Dander

Cat dander is the cause of allergies for many cat owners and is sometimes confused with cat dandruff. While both are dry cat skin, cat dandruff can be seen by the naked eye while cat dander is microscopic in nature.

When you cat grooms herself, she leaves some of her saliva on her skin. The saliva and sometimes urine combined with her skin causes a chemical reaction which can be sensitive to people with allergies. When these small pieces of dry skin fall off her body all over the carpets, bed and clothing, they can be easily inhaled, thus causing the allergy problems.

Some of the allergic reactions caused by cat dander are constant sneezing, itching in your throat or nose, a runny nose, breathing problems, sore eyes and sometimes even triggering asthma attacks.

If you’re a sufferer, what can you do?

The straightforward solution would be to give away your cat though I know how difficult that can be. If you haven’t gotten a cat yet, you might consider a short haired one as they are less likely to have cat dander.

Otherwise if you already have a cat and you really have to keep her, you can do some of the following:

1.      Brush your cat daily and bathe them regularly. I know that it’s easier said than done for the bathing part, but you have to wash them as clean as possible.

2.      Vacuum and clean your home as much as you can. If possible, get rid of all carpets as cat dander sticks to them easily. If you really want to keep your carpet, you might want to use something that cleans thoroughly like the SEBO air belt canister vacuum cleaner or the Bissell compact deep cleaner.

3.      Take a look at your furniture and see if anything can be a breeding ground for cat dander. For example, you might want to change your fabric sofas to leather ones. Or change your heavy fabric curtains to blinds.

4.      Groom your cat regularly. It's a fact that long haired cats have more cat dander problems than short haired ones. It'll be good if you can send her to a good groomer regularly though if you want to do it yourself at home, a lot of us use this cool tool called the FURminator

5.      Another good idea would be to get an air purification system to clean the air of allergens. While choosing a suitable purifier, take note of the noise levels(silent is best of course), physical size, how much room they can clean and the physical looks (some have really nice designs). There are many good air purifiers out there, some of the better ones are: 

6.      Take allergy tablets such as Claritin. Well, I usually don't suggest popping pills at every opportunity, but some of my friends swear by this, and it'll be a good idea to have some at home on standby. Remember to check with your family doctor if you're suffering from any condition or if you're expecting or nursing.

7.      Try to restrict your cat to a few comfort zones within your home so that you know which specific areas to clean thoroughly. If possible, keep her off your bed. If not, you’ll have to clean your bed sheets with hot water as much as possible.

Finally, it is always good hygiene, cat dander allergy or not, to always wash your hands after playing with your cat.

I hope that this guide gives you some solutions on how to start to overcome your cat dander problem. If you're interested in learning how to train your cat and form a deeper bond with her, I suggest you take a look the Cat Secrets Revealed Cat Training Guide. It comes with a 60 day money back guarantee!